“Good morning Dublin!”—These were Michael Newmuis’s opening words at a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at Philadelphia’s Love Park, home to the iconic 1976 sculpture by Robert Indiana.
Newmius, director of the City of Philadelphia, was there to christen The Portal’s debut in his hometown. “Philadelphia is not just the City of Brotherly Love. It’s the city of global love!” Newmius said into the mic to a crowd gathered to wave their hands (and phone cameras) at the screen in the center of the installation.
At the ribbon cutting, Philadelphians gestured hello to Dubliners and a crowd gathered in front of a Portal installed in Vilnius, Lithuania, where founder Benediktas Gylys hails from. The Portal’s installation was paid for entirely by Gylys, and came at no cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers, Newmuis said.
The Portal now on view in Philadelphia is the same one New York had. While the digital art piece was being set up in LOVE Park over the weekend a crack was spotted. As reported by CBS News, officials said screws on the structure were too tight and caused a crack.
“This portal does have a crack. I can say confidently that crack is not the result of vandalism and it’ll be fixed in a few days,” said Newmuis. Laborers assessed The Portal for damage and the opening ceremony went on as planned.
Dublin City Council are delighted to announce the Dublin Portal is now linked to Philadelphia in the USA. The Portal is Philadelphia is located in the city’s JFK Plaza. The livestream will now alternate every 3 minutes between Dublin, Vilnius, Lublin and Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/90KhztUC96
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) October 22, 2024
New York’s portal opened last March, as reported by AN. It was temporarily closed in May because of “inappropriate behavior.” In the few months that it stayed open near the Flatiron Building, most visitors were respectful, but there were some instances where things went awry.
One Dublin drunkard stood before The Portal and flipped New Yorkers the bird for almost one minute, forcing parents to cover their children’s eyes. Another New York TikTokker exposed herself to unsuspecting onlookers in Dublin.
Not long after, an inebriated Irish woman was stopped by the Gardai from “grinding her bum” on The Portal. Irish teenagers also stuck up their iPhones and broadcast images of 9/11 and swastikas into The Portal, catching some New Yorkers by surprise.
Will The Portal find less controversial refuge in Philadelphia? The internet has already weighed in. One skeptic from the peanut gallery asked on Reddit: “How long do we think it will last before someone either does something lewd (mooning, flashing, etc.) or intentionally breaks it? Days? Hours? I’m going with hours.” An X user commented that the installation of The Portal in Philadelphia was “breathtakingly irresponsible” and an example of “why [Philadelphia] can’t have nice things.”
Not everyone is pessimistic. Another Redditor asked fellow interlocutors to think about The Portal’s potential for world peace, and even romance: “Imagine if two people met via [The Portal] and fell in love?” A nice thought for the City of Brotherly Love.
